PIerogi are pretty much pan-slavic, so regional differences account for a lot. Pączki are Polish donuts, but... In this video, a part-Polish Swede makes what's as close to Platonic ideal as I've seen, whose speech sometimes goes this way: Place of origin is near-meaningless at this point. EDIT: He's not Black. I must have somehow confused chefs but not the video? EDIT2: It's not that video/doughnut, but the recipe is pretty damn legit, even if the final product changes. Polish doughnuts are filled with sweet fruit jams (seen everything from strawberry through dog rose to pineapple) and covered in thick glaze based on powdered sugar. Investigation inconclusive.
In my part of the states, Detroit, Michigan, we have a lot of people of Polish descent, and paczki are available only once per year, on the day before lent (generally referred to as “paczki day” around here) and any place that makes one that you’d want to eat usually requires a pre-order. They differ from more traditional donuts in that they’re denser (I think that comes from lard instead of butter), and they’re always filled. No exceptions. Lemon, raspberry and custard are the most common fillings, but you see others here and there. Anyway, just curious if this is anything like the situation in Poland or if this is just a veneration of a thing that’s more everyday in the mother country. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. Rest that foot up. I’ve broken a number of bones in my life but never the foot. It’s supposed to be one of the worst.
Oh, it's absolutely a thing here, called Tłusty Czwartek (Fat Thursday, same thing though). All have a jam/custard/cream filling, yes. Every bakery has their own way of making them, so it's hard to generalize beyond glazed/powdered and how much filling went in. For filling, strawberry and raspberry are popular, dog rose is decently common (and my favourite). The weirdest I ever had was with smoked plum jelly, and although I found them revolting (despite liking powidła), they have their fans too. It's not too hard to find others though, from kiwi to caramel pudding, but not all bakeries bother. Some make, say, 50 of 20 flavours each, while others will bank on a sure thing, like strawberries. And thanks. I only broke a finger before, so don't have much reference, but it's definitely an annoying injury.
It's the name from the box, but I'd guess the first one had plums smoked/dried in a smoker before they went into jelly? Kinda like how some people w̶a̶s̶t̶e̶ ̶g̶r̶a̶p̶e̶s̶ produce artesian wines from processed raisins? My focus went to 'revolting' bit -- powidla can be friggin delicious in everything from meat gravy to porridge, but when you get a smoky-spicy-bitter mix instead of expected sweet…